Tips to prevent household pipes from freezing

Saturday

Jan 4, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By Crystal A. Weyerscweyers@fosters.com

SOMERSWORTH — With the recent trend in frigidly cold temperatures, residents should take precautions to prevent their water pipes from freezing or bursting. Some simple steps can help prevent a potentially costly call to the plumber.

Master Plumber Bill Goscinski, owner of Affordable Plumbing & Heating, located at 71 Maple St., had received three calls for frozen pipes before noon on Friday following the previous night’s extremely low temperatures and harsh winds.

Goscinski said they haven’t received many calls this season for burst or frozen pipes, but residents should be aware of the risk.

“A common misconception people have is they think if their pipes are insulated they won’t freeze,” he said. “But, if it’s zero degrees outside of the insulation it will be zero inside as well.”

Goscinski said wind is the number one thing that can lead to freezing problems and that certain areas have conditions that make the pipes more susceptible to wind and freezing.

He said pipes can burst after freezing due to the expansion of water inside which puts pressure on the pipe causing it to burst or push apart at its joints.

Calls to a plumber for an emergency frozen or burst pipe situation can cost anywhere from $100 to thousands, according to Goscinski.

“It all depends on how bad and where it’s located,” he said. “Usually the problem is in an isolated area, but sometimes people go on vacation and can return home and it’s a disaster.”

A Risk Management Bulletin was recently posted on the city’s website from the New Hampshire Public Risk Management Exchange, Primex3. The bulletin lists several tips for preventing pipes from freezing.

Primex3 suggests insulating areas where pipes are located and eliminating dangerous drafts.

Insulating the pipes with pipe-sleeves or other insulating material helps prevent pipes in nonheated places, such as basements, crawl spaces or outside walls, from being more susceptible to freezing. Heat should also be circulated to pipes in closets and cabinets if possible.

Primex3 posted that home and building temperatures should be kept as consistent as possible and never less than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Residents should check for water leaks, heating failures and windows accidentally left open on a daily basis.

For residents who have lived in their homes for many winters, they know the areas of their home where a pipe is most susceptible to freezing because it has in the past. For those pipes, Primex3 suggests leaving water running at a trickle as an emergency measure to prevent freezing. However, the bulletin adds, “This is never recommended as a permanent measure and should be monitored frequently.”

If a pipe does freeze or burst. Goscinski said a plumber will first isolate the water supply by turning it off.

“You don’t know where breaks are until you thaw the pipes,” he said. “We use a heat gun and try to get the water to free up.”

Primex3 stated, residents should never use torches or other devices with open flames to try to thaw a frozen pipe on their own.

“Call a professional,” the bulletin states.

Councilor David Witham, has worked at Primex3 for 25 years where he is a Public Entity Risk Manager. He said Primex3 issues risk management bulletins periodically as “proactive advice to avoid issues and subsequent claims.”

“Primex3 is a public entity risk pool organized and operating as a trust on behalf of member municipalities, schools, counties and other governmental entities,” according to its website.

For more information Primex3’s Risk Management Services can be reached at 1 (800) 698-2364 or at www.nhprimex.org.